Bama Theatre’s Bama Art House film series begins season Tuesday

Published: Thursday, June 5, 2014 at 5:00 p.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, June 5, 2014 at 5:07 p.m.

The Bama Theatre once again will host its Bama Art House film series, starting Tuesday, with six films representing the best in recent independent film playing in Tuscaloosa for the first time.

Films starring veteran actors Robert Duvall and Woody Allen, young “Avengers” stars Scarlett Johansson and Tom Hiddleston and even the latest from wild card Nicolas Cage will hit the Bama screen, Tuesday evenings at 7:30 p.m. through July 15. Tickets are $7 for general admission, $6 for students and seniors and $5 for Arts Council members. The box office opens at 6:30 p.m. and the doors and Bama Bar, featuring drink specials, open at 6:45 p.m.

For more information on the film series, visit bamatheatre.org/bamaarthouse.php.

Here are the six films screening this summer at the Bama Theatre:

TUESDAY: “A NIGHT IN OLD MEXICO”

Robert Duvall stars in this action-comedy-drama about an elderly man who, after losing his ranch, takes the grandson (Jeremy Irvine) he has never met on a wild night in Mexico. The two get caught up with a lounge singer and Mexican gangsters looking for a lost satchel of cash. The cantankerous Duvall and his disapproving grandson have a evening neither of them will ever forget. See a review of “A Night in Old Mexicon” on PAGE WHATEVER.

June 17: “ONLY LOVERS LEFT ALIVE”

Jim Jarmusch, the king of independent cinema cool, returns with the hipster vampire film “Only Lovers Left Alive.” Tilda Swinton and Tom Hiddleston star as Eve and Adam, two ancient vampires living a world apart (she in Tangiers, he in Detroit) as they navigate a fading, increasingly poisonous world. He is losing hope and despairing about the future; she takes a more optimistic view. The two eventually reunite and deal with her impulsive sister (Mia Wasikowska). The film also stars Anton Yelchin, Jeffrey Wright and John Hurt as Christopher Marlowe (yes, the very same).

June 24: “JOE”

David Gordon Green has a strange filmography, from slow, contemplative dramas like “All the Real Girls” and “Snow Angels” to dirty, goofy comedies like “Pineapple Express” and “Your Highness.” “Joe” is a return to dark drama, starring Nicolas Cage as the titular ex-con working for a lumber company who hires a young man (Tye Sheridan, “Mud”) and becomes a role model as the boy struggles with his dangerous alcoholic father. Conflict ensues and Joe faces not only the boy’s increasingly terrible situation, but his own dark side.

July 1: “ALAN PARTRIDGE”

Steve Coogan has played the character of Alan Partridge, a hilariously self-obsessed radio DJ and television host, on several British TV shows, but the character finally hits the big screen in this dark comedy. The film once again finds Partridge on the radio as a conglomerate purchases his small-town station. Concerned for keeping his own job, Partridge throws a colleague (Colm Meaney) under the bus — and when the man comes back armed and holds the employees of the station hostage, Partridge takes it upon himself to save the day.

July 8: “UNDER THE SKIN”

Scarlett Johansson stars as an otherworldly being in director Jonathan Glazer’s unconventional science fiction-horror film. A sensory experience unlike traditional narrative films, Johansson stars as a being who drives a white van and prowls the streets of Glasgow, Scotland, seeking men for a nefarious purpose. As abstract at points as something like “2001: A Space Odyssey,” “Under the Skin” examines what it means to be human and depicts society through completely alien eyes.

July 15: “FADING GIGOLO”

John Turturro writes, stars in and directs this romantic comedy about an unwilling gigolo pulled into the business by an older friend (Woody Allen). As both men are down on their luck, the income provided by Turturro’s foray into prostitution is welcome — until Turturro meets a Hasidic widow (Vanessa Paradis) with whom he finds a connection. Sharon Stone, Sofia Vergara, Jill Scott and Liev Schreiber co-star. n

Reader comments posted to this article may be published in our print edition. All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be re-published without permission. Links are encouraged.